KoreanParticles

ㄹ까 봐: In case, I'm thinking of

Target: (으)ㄹ까 보다 ((eu)lkka boda)

Theory
Practice

intermediate

Says you're worried something might happen, or that you're thinking of doing something: 늦을까 봐 (neujeulkka bwa), "in case I'm late".

Checked against the official learner dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language

Verb / adjective stem+(으)ㄹ까 봐(eu)lkka bwa in case … / I'm thinking of …
  • After a vowel or ㄹ: ㄹ까 봐. After other consonants: 을까 봐.
  • In the middle of a sentence it means "worried that" or "in case". At the end, 까 봐요 kka bwayo means "I think I might…".

Build it

오다oda올까 봐olkka bwain case it comes
늦다neutda늦을까 봐neujeulkka bwain case I'm late
춥다chupda추울까 봐chuulkka bwain case it's cold
쉬다swida쉴까 봐요swilkka bwayoI think I'll rest

When to use it

Worried that

Doing something because you're afraid.

잊어버릴까 봐 메모했어요.ijeobeorilkka bwa memohaesseoyo.I wrote it down in case I forgot.

Just in case

With adjectives too.

추울까 봐 두꺼운 옷을 입었어요.chuulkka bwa dukkeoun oseul ibeosseoyo.I wore something warm in case it was cold.

Thinking of doing

At the end: 까 봐요.

머리를 짧게 자를까 봐요.meorireul jjalge jareulkka bwayo.I'm thinking of cutting my hair short.

Watch out

만들을까 봐
만들까 봐mandeulkka bwain case I make it

After ㄹ, there's no 을: 만들까 봐 mandeulkka bwa.

늦까 봐
늦을까 봐neujeulkka bwain case I'm late

After a consonant, add 을: 늦을까 봐 neujeulkka bwa.

In context

9 examples
  1. 1

    비가 올까 봐 우산을 가져왔어요.

    Biga olkka bwa usaneul gajyeowasseoyo.

    I brought an umbrella in case it rained.

  2. 2

    늦을까 봐 택시를 탔어요.

    Neujeulkka bwa taeksireul tasseoyo.

    I took a taxi because I was worried I'd be late.

  3. 3

    오늘은 그냥 집에서 쉴까 봐요.

    Oneureun geunyang jibeseo swilkka bwayo.

    I think I'll just rest at home today.

  4. 4

    길을 잃을까 봐 지도를 챙겼어요.

    Gireul ireulkka bwa jidoreul chaenggyeosseoyo.

    I packed a map in case I got lost.

  5. 5

    아이가 깰까 봐 조용히 들어왔어요.

    Aiga kkaelkka bwa joyonghi deureowasseoyo.

    I came in quietly so I wouldn't wake the baby.

  6. 6

    시험에 떨어질까 봐 걱정이에요.

    Siheome tteoreojilkka bwa geokjeongieyo.

    I'm worried I'll fail the exam.

  7. 7

    혹시 실수했을까 봐 다시 확인했어요.

    Hoksi silsuhaesseulkka bwa dasi hwaginhaesseoyo.

    I checked again in case I'd made a mistake.

  8. 8

    다음 달부터 운동을 시작할까 봐요.

    Daeum dalbuteo undongeul sijakalkka bwayo.

    I'm thinking of starting to work out next month.

  9. 9

    배고플까 봐 간식을 사 왔어요.

    Baegopeulkka bwa gansigeul sa wasseoyo.

    I bought some snacks in case you got hungry.

Practice

8 questions
Which form?1 / 8

늦다 + (으)ㄹ까 봐

갈까 봐요 or 갈까요?

They look alike but do different jobs. (으)ㄹ까요? asks the other person, while (으)ㄹ까 봐요 talks about your own half-made plan:

  • 같이 갈까요? gachi galkkayo "Shall we go together?"
  • 저도 갈까 봐요. jeodo galkka bwayo "I think I might go too."

Telling someone "just in case"

까 봐 usually reports what you did or felt because of a worry. To tell someone else to do something just in case, Koreans normally say 지도 모르니까 jido moreunikka, "since it might":

  • 비가 올지도 모르니까 우산을 가져가세요. biga oljido moreunikka usaneul gajyeogaseyo "It might rain, so take an umbrella."

Look it up in the dictionary

The entry for 으ㄹ까 보다 in two trusted Korean dictionaries.

으ㄹ까 보다 in the Naver Korean Dictionary (in Korean) 으ㄹ까 보다 in the Basic Korean Dictionary (NIKL) (with English)
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